Where is Mark Antony? Mark Antony from his consulship in 44 B.C. to the Second Triumvirate November 43 B.C.

AMERICAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

Charles Town, West Virginia

A Research Project Proposal

Submitted By

James A. Bretney

4228927

HIST500 C001 Summer 11

Submitted to the Department of History and Military Studies

October 1, 2011

I.

Tentative Title

I propose to title the research paper “Where is Mark Antony?: Mark Antony from his consulship in 44 B.C. to the Second Triumvirate November 43 B.C.”

II.

Research Problem

 “These many, then, shall die; their names are pricked[1] . . . I damn him.[2]”

So much of current literary scholarship see a Saint Antony where the historical scholarship see only the demonic.  Even then their looking glass was Octavian rather than Ciceronian.  The latter had been fashioned with tools of fact, indictment and honesty rather than hyperbole, innuendo and propaganda. 

Further, few historians understand military matters and thus exclude such considerations in conceiving the clay footed Antony.  Why do they not mention his feats of bravery such as his bringing 6 legions across the tempestuous wintry squalls of the Ionian Sea?  He was the first of the Gabinini to reach Egypt.  He carried a war to Parthia and won the Battle of Philippi single handedly. They neglect the influence of his family.  His brothers, Gaius Antonius and Lucius Antonius, his uncles Gaius Antonius Hybrida (Cicero’s colleague in the consulship), his grandfather Marcus Antonius the Orator (a friend to Cicero), his mother Julia Antonia, her brother and his uncle Lucius Caesar, his sister Marcia Antonia, his son Antyllus and his daughter Clodia[3], his stepfather Lentulus Sura killed by Cicero’s order in 63 B.C. No historian even considers the influence and relationship Mark Antony’s friends Gaius Curio, Publius Cornelius Dolabella, Trebonius and Cicero himself had on the totality of his life. Also all the historians underestimate Lepidus.

The man, having a “Captain’s heart” and “goodly eyes that glowed like plated Mars[4]” sits aloof.

III.

Definition of Terms

A working knowledge of the Roman Constitution, the personalities of the main protagonists, and the events preceding the assassination of Gaius Julius Caesar, henceforth known simply as Caesar to the establishment of the Second Triumvirate is required.

TERMS

Lupercalia	- a fertility festival held in February that has its co-mingled origins with Venus the goddess of Love and the founding of the city
Proscription	-   the method of summary execution began by Marius, formalized by Sulla and revived again by the Second Triumvirate -   an enemies list would be posted in the Forum -   the killing of those on the enemies list dubbed traitors, or enemies of the state
Patron	- is the boss in the political relationship making the decisions and managing the interests of his clients
Client	- the hands in the political machine that served the boss or patron
Supplication	- a public prayer of thanksgiving over a victory or public service
Triumvirate	-   literal translation: the association of three men -   The triumvirate was an extra-Constitutional means to consolidate the political power -   1st Triumvirate consisted of Pompey, Crassus and Caesar -   2nd Triumvirate consisted of Octavian, Antony and Lepidus
equites	- those men of property who can afford a horse during military campaign
Sesterce	- Roman Republican silver coin denoting ‘2 ½’ asses or $ 1.50
Denarii	- Roman Republican silver coin denoting ‘10’ asses or $ 6

ROMAN OFFICES

Dictator	-   according to the Roman constitution, the Senate appoints a dictator to serve for a period of six months.  The Dictator enjoys absolute power to deal with a certain problem.  Dictators mostly resolved military an attack from the Samnites or Hannibal is at the gates.  Sometimes, the Senate appointed a Dictator to put down a rebellion.  The custom set by 3rd century B.C. Cincinnatus, the most famous dictator after Caesar and Sulla, was to resign or “lay down the office” prior to the expiration date. -   Sulla and Caesar sought and received Senatorial appointments to Dictator perpetuo or Dictatorship in perpetuity – for life.  Sulla laid down this office after two years.
Master of Horse	-   The second in command of the Dictator -   When the dictator was away, the Master of the Horse wielded absolute power, a command by which there was no appeal
Tribune	-   established in 494 B.C., just sixteen years after the birth of the Republic, this appointment is ONLY open to Plebeians and Equestrians. -   Only Plebeians and Equestrians may vote in the Tribune's election. -   The Tribune is the only Plebeian allowed to sit in on ALL Senate meetings as the People's representative. -   The Tribune is empowered with the VETO, allowing him/her to reject literally any Senate legislation or function. -   Following the six-month term, the Tribune automatically becomes a member of the Senate and Equestrian Order (if not already).
Consul	-   The chief executive of the Roman Republic -   He served with a colleague -   His colleague and himself had to agree before a decision could take the force of law -   A consul held the supreme command in the Army with his colleague -   At the end of his term of office, the former praetor governed a province for one year and assumed the office of proconsul -   At the end of his term of office, he and his family automatically became enrolled in the nobility.
Praetor	-   The second highest magistracy in the Republic -   A praetor could hold a command in the Army -   At the end of his term of office, the former praetor governed a province for one year and assumed the office of propraetor -   At the end of his term of office, he and his family automatically became enrolled in the nobility.
Aedile	-   there were several aediles that had authority over various jurisdictions such as the waterways, roads, and the entertainments of the people -   It was VERY expensive to hold this office -   This office was a means of gaining popularity, clients, and followers.  It is the way to appeal to the masses.
Quaestor	-   it was the first office that those desiring a public office had to make. -   At the end of his term of office, one became a lifelong senator
Senator	-   one of 300 other members that debated and voted on the great matters of the day. -   Operated much like the House of Lords did prior to the 17th Century
Proconsul	- the governor of the province
Propraetor	- the governor of a lesser province
suffect consul	- Consul of the Roman republic in the event of the death of a Consul while in office.

TIMELINE

Date	Event
17-Mar-45 B.C.	·      Caesar[5] defeated the last Republican stronghold in Spain.
April 45 B.C.	·      Caesar reconciled with Antony.  This meeting in Narbo ended Antony’s political exile.  Antony’s tenure as Master of the Horse was an undisputed disaster. ·      Caesar celebrated a triumph.  The people viewed Caesar’s triumph as tasteless.  Riots erupt near the Circus Maximus.
May 45 B.C.	·      Caesar held censorial powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks that the ordinary censors were subject to, and he used these powers to fill the senate with his own partisans. ·      Caesar required the senate to bestow various titles and honors upon him such as "Father of the Fatherland" and "imperator". ·      Coins bore his image.  ·      He spoke first during senate meetings.
June 45 B.C.	·      Caesar then increased the number of magistrates who were elected each year.  This act created a large pool of experienced magistrates. In this way Caesar bribed his supporters.[6]
August 45 B.C.	·      Caesar fused the entire Roman Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of unequal principalities.
September 45 B.C.	·      Since his absence from Rome might limit his ability to install his own consuls, he passed a law, which allowed him to appoint all magistrates in 43 BC, and all consuls and tribunes in 42 BC. ·      Caesar appointed his own partisans over senatorial aristocracy who competed for offices in elections. ·      To minimize the risk that another general might attempt to challenge him, Caesar passed a law that subjected governors to term limits.  ·      This transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people to being representatives of the dictator.
October 45 B.C.	·      Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province[7], and to link more tightly the other provinces of the empire into a single cohesive unit. ·      Caesar resigned his position as sole consul, and facilitated the election of two successors for the remainder of the year, which, in theory at least, restored the ordinary consulship, since the constitution did not recognize a single consul without a colleague.
November 45 B.C.	·      The People and Senate of Rome elect Caesar and Mark Antony as Consuls for the following year. ·      Caesar promised Dolabella the office the following year (43 B.C.)[8]
December 45 B.C	·
January 44 B.C.	·      Caesar and Mark Antony begin their Consular year.
February 44 B.C.	·      Caesarian supporters cited the Sybilline books that only a king could defeat the Parthians. ·      Caesar made preparations for an invasion of Parthia. ·      Caesar elected Dictator.  Caesar appointed Lepidus as his Master of the Horse.
14-Feb-44 B.C.	·      Rome celebrated the fertility festival of Lupercalia. ·      Mark Antony offered a diadem to Caesar three times. Caesar refused each time. ·      Caesar’s supporters placed wreath on Caesar’s statues.  ·      The tribunes Gaius Epidius Marcellus and Lucius Caesetius Flavus arrested the supporters. ·      Caesar deposed the tribunes.   ·      This act violated the sanctity of the tribunate.[9]
March B.C.	·      Caesar began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire.
15-Mar-44 B.C.	·      The Liberators led by Marcus Brutus assassinated Caesar. ·      Mark Antony took a slave dress and barricaded himself in his house. ·      The Liberators announced their act in the forum. ·      Lepidus’ legions occupied the forum
16-Mar-44 B.C.	·      Mark Antony met with Lepidus who was on his way to Spain with his legions.  ·      Mark Antony betrothed his son to Lepidus’ daughter ·      Mark Antony met the Liberators in the Pompey’s Theatre – the temporary meeting place of the Roman Senate. ·      Mark Antony and the Liberators reconciled and pronounced a general amnesty. ·      Dolabella seized the office of consulship. ·      Dolabella convinced the Army to come over to his side.
16-Mar-44 B.C. Evening	·      The city turned out for the funeral oration of Caesar. ·      Brutus spoke first praising Caesar’s accomplishments by stating that the interests of the Republic must prevail ·      Antony spoke second.  His words inspired a riot in the Forum. ·      Rioters killed a man who later turned out to have nothing with the conspiracy except sharing the same last name as one of the culprits. ·      Rioters burned the Theatre of Pompey which served as the temporary Senate house ·      A lawless reign of terror begins while Lepidus’ troops do nothing to quash the rioting. ·      Antony restored Deiotarus to his throne after a big bribe (hundreds of millions of sesterces). ·      Deiotarus seized his throne by force. ·      Antony seized the Temple of Ops where Caesar deposited 4 million sesterces.
April 44 B.C.	·      The Liberators flee the city ·      Cicero too left the city complaining of the vacillation and lack of resolve of the Liberators. ·      Antony opposed a motion that granted Caesar a god.  This alienated him from many of Caesar’s slavish supporters. ·      Octavian arrived at Brundisium. ·      Caesar’s Parthian Expeditionary Force welcomes him. ·      Octavian seized 700 million sesterces set aside for the Parthian invasion. ·      Octavian gathered an army of 3,000 loyal veterans from the Campania he paid them an annual salary of 500 denarii.
May 44 B.C.	·      May 6, Octavian entered Rome. ·      Octavian seized tribute from Near Eastern provinces from Roman coffers, denying them to Antony. ·      Senate investigation investigating Octavian’s seizure of the Parthian funds absolved Octavian of any wrongdoing. ·      Cicero began to return to Rome, but friends dissuade his return ·      Antony gave Brutus and Cassius commissions to buy grain abroad to get them out of Rome.
June 44 B.C.	·      Antony summoned the Senators for a meeting of the Senate. ·      Octavian entertained the public with splendid games.
July 44 B.C.	·      Sextus Pompeius[10] sent letters of accommodation to the senate. ·      Sextus Pompeius even traveled as far as Marseilles.
August 44 B.C.	·
17-Aug-44 B.C.	·      Cicero returned to Velia after contrary winds prevent him from leaving for Greece. ·      Cicero later held a conference with Brutus who was on his way to Macedonia – the province Caesar assigned to him.
31-Aug-44 B.C.	·      Cicero returned to Rome. ·      The people welcomed Cicero with adulation. ·      Antony demanded Cicero attend the Senate.
September 44 B.C.	·      On the legislative agenda was honors and titles to making Julius Caesar a god.  ·      Cicero avoided attending as he realized it would be useless to oppose them. ·      Mark Cicero returned to Rome to deliver his first of fourteen orations against Mark Antony called the Philippics.
19-Sep-44 B.C.	·      Antony expected Cicero to be in the Senate. ·      Antony prepared to give an invective against Cicero ·      Cicero did not go to the Senate to be held in the Temple of Concord. ·      Antony brought a strong guard with him to the Forum. ·      Antony accused Cicero of premeditating and planning Caesar’s murder.
September 44 B.C.	·      Cicero was in Naples and wrote his second Philippic to Brutus and Cassius. ·      Antony declared more openly against the Liberators. ·      Antony erected a statue of Caesar with the inscription “To the most worthy Defender of his Country.” ·      Antony foiled Octavian’s plot to assassinate him by means of slaves. ·      Octavian outbid Antony in gaining the loyalty of the legions. ·      Octavian holding no office courted the old Republican faction and Cicero. ·      Cicero doubted Octavian’s ability, youth and sincerity in reconciling with his Uncle’s murderers. ·      Cicero did return to Rome when Octavian promised he would defend Brutus and the Liberators.
30-Sep-44 B.C.	·      Antony left Rome from Brundisium.  He wanted to engage the service of four of Caesar’s legions who returned from Macedonia.
October 44 B.C.	·      When Antony arrived at Brundisium, 3 of the 4 legions refused to follow him. ·      Antony murdered the centurions of the rebel legions – 300 men in his lodgings in the sight of him and his wife Fulvia. ·      They returned with the one 1 loyal legion. ·      The 3 legions declared for neither party.
24-Oct-44 B.C.	·      Antony summoned the Senate. ·      He got the Senate to distribute provinces to his friends. ·      He next wanted the Senate decreed Octavian an enemy of the state.
28-Oct-44 B.C.	·      Antony adjourned the Senate on the news that 2 of the 3 legions declared for Octavian and encamped at Alba.
November 44 B.C.	·      Octavian won over 2 of Antony’s legions (the Martial and the 4th Legion) with promises of more money. ·      Antony fled from Rome to Cisalpine Gaul a province held by conspirator Decimus Junius Brutus[11].
December 44 B.C.
9-Dec-44 B.C.	·      Cicero returned to Rome. ·      Cicero conferred with Pansa, the Consul-elect.  Hirtius, his colleague was ill. ·      Octavian’s friend solicited Cicero. ·      Cicero won a concession from Octavian allowing Casca to return to Rome and for Casca to enter into his office as tribune of the people.
10-Dec-44 B.C.	·      Casca entered his office as tribune of the people.
19-Dec-44 B.C.	·      The new tribunes convoked a session of the Senate. ·      Cicero intended on being absent. ·      Cicero learned that Decimus Brutus would defend his province. ·      Cicero delivered the Third Philippic and a resolution supporting Decimus Brutus.
December 44 B.C.	·      Cicero delivered the Fourth Philippic
January 43 B.C.	·      Antony’s partisans led by Quintus Fufius Calenus and Lucius Piso pressure the new consuls Pansa and Hirtius to send an embassy to Antony. ·      Cicero opposed the embassy and wanted him declared a public enemy. ·      Cicero passed resolutions (1)    offering pardon to deserters of Antony’s legions (2)    thanking Decimus Brutus (3)    decreeing a statue to Marcus Lepidus for his services to the republic and his loyalty (4)    thanking Octavian and granting him a special propraetorian command (5)    inducting Octavian into the Senate. (6)    Thanking Lucius Egnatueius of the Martial Legion (7)    Thanking the Martial and 4th Legion. ·      The senate offered honours to Octavian beyond what Cicero had proposed. ·      The Consuls seeing the majority agreed with Cicero adjourned the session for one day. ·      The discussion of the embassy carried for three days ·      Cicero would have prevailed had not one of the tribunes Salvius vetoed the measure. ·      The Senate appointed Servius Suplicius, Lucius Piso and Lucius Philippus to act as ambassadors to Antony. ·      Their mission was to: (1)    order Antony to abandon the siege (2)    meet Decimus Brutus and his Army (3)    thank Decimus Brutus and his Army on behalf of Rome. ·      Tribune Publius Appulieus related the Sixth Philippic to the curious Roman people ·      The Senate ordered an embassy to treat with Antony ·      One of the ambassadors, Servius Sulpicius was in very bad health. ·      Calenus and Antony’s partisans demonstrate in the city representing Antony as eager for accommodation publishing his correspondence ·      Cicero responded with the Seventh Philippic. ·      The Consuls prepared for war. ·      Hirtius, in bad health, left first ·      Hirtius joined Octavian already engaged against Antony. ·      Hirtius engaged Antony and got the advantage at once ·      Servius Sulpicius died before the Ambassadors reached the camp
February 43 B.C.	·      The Ambassadors returned bringing word of Antony’s refusal ·      Antony barred their entry into Decimus Brutus’ camp ·      The Ambassadors contrary to their duty brought back Antony’s terms: (1)    Ratification of his acts and Dolabella’s acts respecting Caesar’s papers (2)    No account was to be required of him concerning the Temple of Ops (3)    He should have six legions and the province of further Gaul ·      Pansa convened the Senate to receive the Ambassadors   ·      Cicero criticized Antony ·      Antony’s numerous partisans led by Galenus mitigated Cicero’s attacks ·      Pansa voted with Galenus ·      Cicero ordered the citizens to wear the sagum or robe of war which he wore himself waiving his right as a man of consular rank ·      Cicero delivered his Eighth Philippic against Mark Antony ·      The next day, Pansa proposed a public funeral, a sepulcher and a statue be erected in the forum honoring the dead Ambassador Servius Sulpicius ·      Servilius opposed the statue as due to only those who killed violently in the performance of their duty. ·      Cicero supported the statue in the deliver of his Ninth Philippic.
March 43 B.C.	·      Pansa convened the Senate upon receipt of dispatches from Brutus.  ·      Brutus took Macedonia, Illyricum and Greece from Gaius Antonius. ·      Gaius Antonius retired to Apollonia with 7 cohorts ·      Lucius Piso and his legion surrendered to young Cicero who was commanding cavalry deserters from Dolabella ·      Vatinius and his garrison at Dyrrachium surrendered to young Cicero ·      Brutus praised Proconsul of Macedonia, Quintus Horentsius in gaining the Grecian provinces and armies in those districts ·      Pansa praised Brutus and moved for a vote of thanks – supplication. ·      Calenus disagreed stating: (1)    Brutus acted without any public commission or authority. (2)    Surrender his command to the proper governors or whoever the Senate should appoint ·      Cicero responded to Calenus in his Tenth Philippic ·      A short time afterward, Dolabella convinced many in the province of Asia to abandon Trebonius[12].  ·      Dolabella requested free passage through Trebonius’ province. ·      Trebonius refused him admittance into Smyrna but allowed him to enter Ephesus. ·      Trebonius overpowered the guard and murdered Trebonius with great cruelty. ·      Upon news of Trebonius’ murder, Consul Pansa convened the Senate. ·      Calenus sponsored a decree of the Senate declaring Dolabella a public enemy confiscating his estate ·      On the question of who would wage war against Dolabella, a proposal that Pansa assented to was that the consuls would have the command and that they should have the provinces of Asia and Syria afterward. ·      Pansa’s friends and Antony’s partisans supported this proposal. ·      The Antony party wanted to distract the consuls from their campaign against Antony in Mutina. ·      Cicero thought it would insult Cassius ·      Cicero prevailed over the anxious objections made by Cassius’ mother-in-law Servilia[13] and many of Cassius’ friends. ·      Cicero delivered the Eleventh Philippic in support of his proposition. ·      Cicero’s motion failed trhough the influence of Pansa. ·      Cassius defeated Dolabella near Laodicea.  ·      Dolabella killed himself to prevent his capture. ·
April 44 B.C.	·      Brutus gained great advantages in Macedonia against Gaius Antonius and took him prisoner ·      Brutus’s liberal treatment of Gaius Antonius offended Cicero ·      Cicero feared Plancus’ loyalty to the Republic ·      Cassius succeeded in Syria ·      Antony’s partisans spread word of Antony’s successes at Mutina. ·      Antony’s partisans spread a rumor that Cicero was to make himself master of Rome and assume the Dictatorship ·      Apuleius, a friend of Cicero and tribune of the people made a speech refuting the accusation. ·      Pansa joined his four legions (20,000 men) with Hirtius ·      The idea that Decimus Brutus would follow the fate of Trebonius distressed his friends in Rome. ·      Friends of Antony gave word that Antony was more inclined to come to terms with the Senate. ·      A second embassy garnered Pansa’s support. ·      At first Cicero consented to it and allowed himself to be nominated with Servilius and three other senators of consular rank. ·      Upon reflection, Cicero realized he blundered as it afforded Ventiduis time to join Antony with three legions ·      Cicero delivered his Twelfth Philippic cancelling the second embassy. ·      The Senate abandoned the measure. ·      Pansa moved to join Hirtius and Octavians with the intention of forcing a battle with Antony. ·      Antony wrote a long letter to Hirtius and Octavian proposing an alliance against the Liberators. ·      Instead of answering the letters, the deferred to Cicero. ·      Ignoring the honors the Senate lauded on him, Lepidus wrote a public letter to the Senate advocating peace. ·      Lepidus’ letter distressed the Senate. ·      Servilius won the support of the Senate in thanking Lepidus for his love of peace but that there would be no peace until Antony laid down his arms ·      Lepidus’ letter encouraged Antony’s friends. ·      Cicero delivered the thirteen Philippic.
14-Apr-43 B.C.	·      Battle of Forum Gallorum – defeat for Antony
15-Apr-43 B.C	·      The news arrived at Rome and the people assembled at Cicero’s house and carried him in triumph to the Capitol
16-Apr-43 B.C.	·      Marcus Cornutus, the praetor summoned the Senate to deliberate on the letters received from the consuls and Octavian ·      Servilius declared that the citizens should relinquish the garb of war ·      Cicero disagreed and chastised Servilius for not calling Antony an enemy.
21-Apr-43 B.C.	·      Battle of Mutina – defeat for Antony
April 44 B.C.	·      The consuls Pansa and Hirtius die from wounds received on the battlefield.  Octavian left as sole commander.
May 43 B.C.	·      Cicero delivered his 14th Philippic against Antony
June 43 B.C.	·      Senate awarded command to Decimus Brutus over Octavian. ·      Decimus Brutus thanked Octavian.  Octavian coldly rejected Decimus Brutus calling him his uncle’s murderer. ·      Octavian coopted Decimus Brutus’s legions from him. ·      Decimus Brutus fled Italy for Greece.  ·      Octavian resisted the change of command by refusing further action against Antony.
July 43 B.C.	·      Octavian sent an embassy of centurions to the Senate DEMANDING he be appointed Suffect consul ·      Octavian demanded the war on Antony stop. ·      The Senate refused.
August 43 B.C.	·      Octavian marched on Rome with 8 legions. ·      No military opposition
19-Aug-43 B.C.	·      Octavian and his uncle, Quintus Pedius,[14] are elected Suffect Consuls.
August 43 B.C.	·      Antony formed an alliance with Lepidus.
September 43 B.C.
October 43 B.C.	·      Octavian, Lepidus and Brutus formed the Second Triumvirate.
November 43 B.C.	·      To finance the final campaign against Brutus and Cassius, the Second Triumvirate decided on a proscription list. ·      The proscription list consisted of 300 senators and 2,000 equites.
December 43 B.C	Executioners assassinated Cicero.  They killed his brother and his nephew.  They hack off Cicero’s head and right hand displaying it in the forum.

IV.

Background

“Where is Antony?  Where is Mark Antony?  Antony the Great, the Divine, Antony, here, he is here, one step behind Caesar at the right hand of Caesar in the shadow of Caesar.[15]”

Two thousand years have come and gone since the death of Mark Antony - “Friend and companion in the front of war.[16]”  The gilded crown of his renown still burns brightly casting a shadow over his face and masking the windows to his soul.  Perhaps those that have eyes to see that see Mark Antony will always wonder about the man who is at once “the greatest prince o’ th’ world[17]” and the “shrewd contriver.[18]”  Plutarch who was nearer to Mark Antony than contemporary lights wrote that he imitated the "Asiatic style of oratory, which was at the height of its popularity in those days and bore a strong resemblance to his own life, which was swashbuckling and boastful, full of empty exultation and distorted ambition.[19]"  His words loosed the “domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Italy; blood and destruction shall be in use, and dreadful objects so familiar . . .infants quartered with hands of war.[20]”  Antony, “Noble, courageous high, unmatchable[21]”, “Antony . . . but a limb of Caesar”[22], “Antony, son of Caesar,[23]” Antony, “masquer and a reveler[24],” he brought “Hearts and minds to mutiny and rage[25].” He cried, “Havoc and let slip the dogs of war[26].” Who was he?

“You know his means, if he improve them, may well stretch so far as to annoy us all[27].” Unlike the messianic Caesar or the inhuman Octavian, Mark Antony’s humanity, courage and charity mingled freely with his cruelty, lust and pride.  Thus, Antony does annoy us as we see too much of ourselves in his estranged fortune and his familiar vice.

V.

Research Methods

My research methods will consist of comparing and contrasting English translations of primary and secondary sources. I will use Plutarch’s Life of Antony as the foundation of my research. I will draw upon Suetonius’ Life of Augustus and Cicero’s Letters and Philippics. I will use Mommsen to get an overview as well as Appian and Cassius Dio.

VI.

Research Limitations

The significant obstacles obstruct this inquiry.  Time, money, safety, geography, politics, language, culture, academics and the records themselves obscure the face of Mark Antony.

 

Time stands in front of every historian or man engaged in any noble enterprise.  There is not enough time to interview the living historians, the archeologists and professional historians. 

Further, the great physical distances not only from America to Europe but within the Southern Mediterranean stand in the progress of exploring Mark Antony.  The cost of such a venture would frighten even the most well heeled historian.

Even if I could surmount the financial, time and physical obstacles of travel to Rome, Greece, North Africa, the Levant could be surmounted, even if I could walk each archeological site, touch each artifact, read every paper, and interviews each expert to complete the totality of perspective, some places are not safe.  These political considerations must be weighed.

While possessing many advantages that some of my peers do not, I am no Hercules.  I can read Spanish and French sources with the aid of dictionary and online translator.  I only have a working knowledge of Latin. I am only familiar with Italian, Serbo-Croatian and German.  I have no Greek, Romanian, or Hungarian.

Further, even though I participated in modern war, I am not expert in warfare and certainly no expert in modern warfare or the mob violence that characterized the Late Republic of which Antony fashioned himself a skillful practitioner.

The records, by which, these studies depend are themselves imperfect and incomplete.  Historians record the Philippics in Latin and numerous modern languages, but the more mundane articles such as legionnaire personnel status reports, census records detailing the enrollment of new citizens and the disenrollment of others, tribal voting records on a variety of different measures, Senatorial minutes and agenda, the accounting records of the names and numbers of slaves, almost two thousand years old, if they ever existed are lost to the 21^st century examiner.

Appian of Alexandria recorded in fragments Antony’s funeral oration to Caesar.  That speech coupled with anecdotes from Plutarch give us some insight into his mind. For the most part, historians do not record the writings of Antony.  They did not bother to write to down what he said because it wasn’t worthwhile or there was not much to write.

Given that reality, historians must make comparisons, analogize and by measured means speculate such an activity is problematic and fraught with peril.  We may forgive Plutarch for his comparing noble Greeks with noble Romans; few of us in our comparison are so learned. 

This tentative inquiry borders on no man’s land between forensic inquiry and historical fiction.  It depends on interpretations of other historians and writers over time.  It co-mingles legend, myth and history in search of the real Antony.  It is a dubious venture with a high probability of failure, but are we well served if we shirk this duty?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRIMARY SOURCES

Caesar, Gaius Julius.  The African Wars.  Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn.  The Internet Classics Archive. 2000. Available from http://classics.mit.edu//Caesar/african.html accessed 30 September 2011.

Caesar, Gaius Julius.  The Alexandrian Wars.  Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn.  The Internet Classics Archive. 2000. Available from http://classics.mit.edu//Caesar/alexandrian.html accessed 24 September 2011.

Caesar, Gaius Julius.  The Civil Wars, Book 1.  Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn.  The Internet Classics Archive. 2000. Available from http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/civil.1.1.html accessed 30 September 2011.

Caesar, Gaius Julius.  The Civil Wars, Book 2.  Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn.  The Internet Classics Archive. 2000. Available from http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/civil.2.2.html , accessed 30 September 2011.

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[1]Shakespeare, ibid, 91.

[2] Shakespeare, ibid, 92.

[3] Clodia was the daughter of Antony and Fulvia.  Antony named Clodia after his murdered friend, the mob leader Clodius.  She became the first wife to Octavian.

[4] Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology.) http://shakespeare.mit.edu/cleopatra/full.html, (accessed 01 October 2011).

[5] Caesar delegated much of his power to his lieutenants because Caesar was frequently out of Italy. Caesar oscillated between the ex officio absolute power all the while holding de facto power absolutely.  Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but alternated between the consulship and the Proconsulship. His powers within the state seem to have rested upon manipulating these magistracies.

Lepidus through Senatorial decree appointed him in 49 B.C.  He choose to use that power to preside over elections.  When he won the Consulship, Caesar resigned his dictatorship.  He held the office eleven days.

In 48 BC, the Senate appointed Caesar dictator again, only this time for an indefinite period and again in 46 BC for ten years. In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals", which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were identical to those of the censors.

[6] When Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, the ranks of the senate had been severely depleted, and so he used his censorial powers to appoint many new senators, which eventually raised the senate's membership to 900.

[7] This addressed the causa belli of the Social War decades earlier, where Italians outside Rome were not full citizens.

[8] I am speculating when elections occurred as different sources and experts cannot agree when annual elections occurred.

[9] This was not the first time Caesar flouted the sanctity of the tribunes. In 49 B.C., when Caesar marched on Rome, Caesar forcibly opened the treasury against the will of the people’s tribunes.  In 48 BC, Caesar ordered the Senate to give him permanent tribunician powers, which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to veto the senate.  When offending tribunes obstructed him, Caesar brought them before the senate and divested of their office. 

[10] Sextus Pompieus was the surviving son of Gnaeus Pompeius or Pompey the Great.  Sextus Pompieus led the faction of Old Republican holdouts.

[11] Decimus Junius Brutus was said to be the illegitimate son of Julius Caesar.

[12] Trebonius was one of the Liberators that killed Caesar.  He was the governor of Asia residing in Smyrna.

[13] Servilia was the extramarital lover of the deceased Julius Caesar and the mother of Marcus Brutus.

[14] Quintus Pedius was the brother-in-law to Julius Caesar

[15] Richard Burton, “Antony’s Monologue,” Cleopatra. Film. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 1963; Los Angles, CA: Producers Pictures Corporation, 1963.

[16] Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology.) http://shakespeare.mit.edu/cleopatra/full.html, (accessed 01 October 2011).

[17] Shakespeare, ibid.

[18] Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. (Scholastic Book Series, 1874),38.

[19] Plutarchus, Lucius Mestrius.  The Life of Antony. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin.  (Loeb Classical) http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Antony*.html, (accessed 24 September 2011)

[20] Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. (Scholastic Book Series, 1874),72.

[21] Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology.) http://shakespeare.mit.edu/cleopatra/full.html, (accessed 01 October 2011).

[22] Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. (Scholastic Book Series, 1874), 39.

[23] Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology.) http://shakespeare.mit.edu/cleopatra/full.html, (accessed 01 October 2011).

[24] Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. (Scholastic Book Series, 1874), 122.

[25] Shakespeare, ibid, 80.

[26] Shakespeare, ibid, 72.

[27] Shakespeare, ibid, 38.